Hitching device



(No E, PARKISON.

HITGHING DEVICE.

No. 476,812. Patented June 14, 18921.

- l q //4 M-///// f F n awuawfo z l vi m/moaao NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN ELMER PARKISON, OF ASPEN, ASSIGNOR OF TW'O-TIIIRDS TO SILAS BERTENSHAVV, OF DENVER, AND WILL S. PARKISON, OF GLENWOOD SPRINGS, COLORADO.

HlTCHlNG DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 476,812, dated June 14, 1892. Application filed November 23, 1891. Serial No. 412,840. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN ELMER PARKISON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Aspen, in the county of Pitkin and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in llitching Devices; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to that class of hitching devices in which a weight hung beneath the body of the vehicle is rendered detachable from its support to enable it to be lowered to the ground or pavement, such weight being connected by a suitable strap to the bit or to the snap-hook ring or other attachment provided therefor.

It is the purpose of my invention to afford a simple and inexpensive device whereby the hitching-rein and its anchoring-weight may be instantaneously disconnected from its support beneath the vehicle-body and dropped to the ground without requiring any special manipulation, and particularly without the necessity of using the eye in making the detachment. It is my purpose, in other words,

to provide an attachment or support for the anchoring-weight of such simple construction that a single slight pull upon the connected strap shall instantly release said weight and leave it in position to be dropped by gravity, its rise and restoration to place and to engagement with the support being effected by a substantial reversal of the detaching movement or by simply drawing the weight up obliquely and releasing the strap, which is automatically engaged by the supporting device.

My invention consists, to these ends, in the several novel features of construction and new combination of parts, hereinafter fully set forth, and then more particularly pointed out and defined in the claims which conclude this specification.

To enable others to fully understand and to make and use my said invention, I will proceed to describe the same in detail, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a partial side elevation of a vehicle having the invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken from front to rear, the section plane passing through the center of the anchoring-weight, a portion of the vehicle-bottom being broken away to show the manner of mounting the support. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the support inverted, the weight being removed and the attaching-strap shown in cross-section.

In the said drawings, the reference-11 u meral 1 indicates the body portion of a vehicle of any ordinary kind, having wheels 2 and shafts 3, for which, however, a tongue may be subtituted.

Upon the bottom 4 of the vehicle, beneath the seat or at any other preferred point within convenient reach of the driver, I mount a plate 5, usually formed of metal and adapted to lie fiat upon the bottom 4, the face of said plate being provided with a segmental rib or projection 6 and a curved rib '7, which lie within an opening 8 in the vehicle-bottom and abut the rearward and forward edges, re spectively, of said opening. Between the parts 6 and 7 an opening 9 is formed in the plate 5, one part of said opening being parallel with and adjacent to the rib 6, directly in front of the fiat face of said rib, and the other part of said opening extending fore and aft and intersecting the central portion ofthe first part, thereby forming a substantially T- shaped opening. From the under face of the plate 5 are dropped two plates or projections 10, which extend transversely to the fore-and aft part of the opening 9 and unite with parts or project-ions l2, lying on opposite sides of the said fore-and-aft portions. These angular projections form depending brackets upon which is supported a tongue or pawl 13, consisting, substantially, of a fiat metallic plate of suitable thickness having its edges tapered to a point at one end. The pivotal support slots 21 of the desired length.

of this tongue is a pin 14, which lies in lateral bosses 15 on the fiat vertical faces of the tongue, their ends being in such proximity to the plate or projections 12, between which they lie, as to prevent play and hold the point of the tongue in the central line, or substantially so, of the fore-and-aft opening in the plate. The front end of this tongue when depressed lies against a plate 5, as indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawings, which forms a strap to limit its movement in that direction, and when raised to the upright position (indicated by dotted lines in the same figure) the tongue bears against the plate at the rear of the opening in which it works, which forms a stop to limit the movement in that direction.

Upon the broad end of the tongue is formed or mounted a weight consisting, preferably, of lateral integral masses of metal 16, of suitable size and form, the preponderance being such that the point of the tongue will normally be raised when the plate 5 is horizontal, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2. Usually I cast these projections on the broad rounded end of the tongue and make them of approximately crescent shape, their ends forming stops for the tongue by Whichits rising movementis limited, the ends of said projections abutting against the lower ends of the brackets carrying the pivotal support 14, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2.

The numeral 17 indicates the Weight, which is of any preferred form. To this weight is attached in any suitable manner the hitching strap 18, which may be carried from the said weight to the bit of the animal in the shafts. I may lead this strap under the axle and along one of the shafts, supportingit in keepers 19, or I may arrange it differently, provided that a proper slack be given to the strap or rein when the weight is lowered.

The weight 17.is supported by a strap 20, which is provided with a longitudinal slot or This strap is introduced through the transverse portion of the opening 9, and its end is brought up into the interior of the vehicle or into such position that it shall be within easy reach of the driver. The end of this strap may be provided with a suitable handle of any simple form, which is not only a convenience to the driver but prevents the end of the strap from passing down through the transverse part of the opening 9.

The operation of the device is as follows: As the supporting-strap is drawn in either direction in the opening in the plate the point of the tongue 13 will enter the longitudinal slot 21, and if the strap be slightly inclined the upper extremity of said slot will catch the tongue 13 and carry it downward against the gravity of the weighted end. The point of the tongue projecting over the top of the plate above the rib 6 it will be supported and will sustain the weight 17 in its raised position, the length and position of the slot 21 being such as to hold the weight in suitable proximity to the bottom l of the vehicle. By drawing upon the strap 20 until the weight and strap both rise the tongue 13 will rise automatically, its normal position being shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2, in which its point is practically clear of the slot 21 in the strap. The latter may, therefore, be run downward to lower the weight,or the latter may be dropped until it rests upon the ground, no special attention on the part of the driver being required either to release and lower said weight or to raise and secure 1t.

WVhat I claim is 1. In a hitching device, the combination, with a plate or support formed with an open ing for the passage of a weighted hitchingstrap, of a tongue pivoted to one side of sa d opening and adapted when depressed to he across the opening and having its rear end weighted to automatically move said tongue from across said opening and into an upright position when pressure is removed from the forward end of the tongue, and a weighted hitching-strap formed with openings for the weighted tongue to enter, substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. In a hitching device, the combination, with a plate or support having an opening for the passage of a weighted hitching-strap, of a tongue pivoted to one side of said opening and adapted when depressed to lie across the opening and having its rear end weighted and located beneath its support, a recess formed in the plate to receive the end of the tongue when depressed, and a weighted hitchin g-strap formed with openings for the weighted tongue to enter, substantially as and for the purposes described.

3. In a hitching device, the combination,

with a plate or support having an opening for the passage of a weighted strap, of a pivoted counter-balanced tongue adapted to lie across said strap-opening, ribs formed on one face of said plate on opposite sides of said opening, and a weighted hitching-strap formed with openings for said tongue to enter, substantially as and for the purposes described.

4. In a hitching device, the combination, with a plate or support having an opening for the passage of a weighted strap, of depending projections to one side of said strap-opening having a space between them, a tongue pivotally supported back of said depending projections and adapted to play in the space between said projections and to lie across the strap-opening when depressed, and a weighted hitching-strap formed with openings for said tongue to enter, substantially as and for the purposes described.

5. In a hitching device, the combination, with a plate or support having an opening for a weighted strap and an opening extending transversely to the strap-opening to receive a pivoted tongue, of a tongue lying in said In testimony whereof Iaffix my signature in transverse opening and pivoted to a support, presence of two Witnesses. bosses on opposite sides of said tongue to i T center the tongue in its opening, and a Weight- JOHN ELMER PARKISOI\' 5 ed hitching-strap formed with openings for Witnesses:

said tongue to enter, substantially as and for L. A, W. BROWN, the purposes described. XV. BOOTH NELSON. 

